The Worlds That Never Were
by dragnclaw
Summary: You see, stories are just different worlds that you can lose yourself in; until they end, that is. -A collection of drabbles, musings, and various other things that belong nowhere else.
1. Loneliness

**Title: **The Worlds That Never Were

**Summary: **You see, stories are just different worlds that you can lose yourself in; until they end, that is. Then you must return to the harshness of reality. -A collection of drabbles and musings that fit nowhere else.-

**Rating: **T

**Author's Notes: **As the summary says, this'll be where I stick all my random drabbles and musings that don't fit into any story I'm currently writing. I hope you enjoy them.

_**The Worlds That Never Were**_

_Loneliness _

* * *

_Maybe…maybe loneliness was what caused all of this_, Sakura mused. This, meaning Team Seven, and all that came after. If Naruto was never alone, he never would have strived to be acknowledged as a ninja and a person; he never would have wanted to become Hokage, or if he did, he wouldn't have tried so hard. He wouldn't be the same knuckleheaded, loudmouth shinobi he was now, and Sakura didn't know how she'd live without him. 

Sasuke…Sasuke would never have been able to be acknowledged by those that mattered most to him-the dead speak only through whispers on the wind- and the only person that could acknowledge him is his brother, whom had killed the clan in the first place. So he suffers and harms those around him in hopes that one day, Itachi will say that he's good enough, that everything will be alright. Because all it really is, is loneliness; all anyone really wants is to know that they are needed, and wanted; a confirmation that proves that their existence was not meaningless; that they are worth something, to someone. Sasuke is lonely, and he thinks that the only person that can cure that is his brother….

He doesn't see that the people around him love him more that his brother ever could; they love him with everything they've got, and they'd do anything for him, that _she'd_ do anything for him. But he doesn't see that; and so they all suffer in silent misery. How foolish they all are….

Kakashi-sensei. An enigma, maybe even to himself. A person who would never forgive himself for the deaths of his teammates, and spends every day haunted by the mistakes he made almost a lifetime ago; living in the past instead of moving on into the future. Was that how they would all turn out? It seemed inevitable, in a way…they all have mistakes they wish they'd never made.

And lastly, Sakura, herself. After being rejected by the person she once loved more than life itself, she finally saw what life was all about, and saw what she was doing-or not doing, in her case- was going to get her killed. So she refused to be the weakest person on her team, and started training to become a medic nin. But why?

Sakura realized that she only did so, so that if Sasuke ever returned, he'd see how much she'd grown and changed, and maybe then, he would finally acknowledge her. The driving force was, of course, loneliness. She felt like no one in the world understood the pain she was going through. Maybe it was nothing compared to what Sasuke, Naruto, and Kakashi-sensei had gone through, but it had still hurt her, and shaped her into the person she had become.

Bitter, and still alone, even though they are all surrounded by people-people that are also bitter and alone. And all that each and every one of them wants is to be acknowledged and loved for who they are.

So why does everyone fight each other?

Maybe the answer to that question will never be known. Sakura thinks it's quite pointless; that rather than fighting, people should try and work together. But then, life would be perfect (or something close to that), and there is no such thing as perfect. So everyone will continue living in loneliness and looking for someone to love.

* * *

"_Everyone is lonely, at bottom, and cries to be understood; but we can never entirely understand someone else, no matter how much we try or want to._"-Leo Rosten 


	2. Picture

_**The Worlds That Never Were**_

**Title:** Picture

**Date written: **6.9.2008

**Pairing(s):** None.

**Rating: **T

**Warning(s):** Unbeta'd.

**Author's Note:** Well, my muse has crawled into a hole to avoid ...well, everything, and I've been trying to draw it back out into the world of the living by writing drabbles. Please note that most of these were written late at night, and please forgive any mistakes.

* * *

The picture haunted her; it was the last thing she saw before going to sleep, and the first thing she saw upon waking. It is what drove her to become stronger, to shed her shell of weakness and dependency, and become the powerful, resourceful, kind and caring person she is today.

But it isn't enough.

It still drives her to become better, so she could protect her broken fragments of a broken team.

* * *

The picture; it hurt him so much every time he looked at it and was reminded of better days, ones without the red dawn, without snakes and curses and revenge and losing a brother, being thrown away like trash to rot, like he didn't matter and no one cared.

Within that picture was his first family, his only family, now scattered to the wind- but not for long. He would bring them back, if it was the last thing he did.

That was his nindo, and he would live by it.

It is all he has.

* * *

Years have passed by since he last looked at that picture; at the people he left behind.

He left so they would suffer less, so he would not hurt them because of what he has to do, not realizing that that was the biggest mistake he ever made because it hurt them more than his being there ever could, and he regretted it.

Every once in a while, when he thought his companions were not looking, he'd take out that battered picture and his heart would yearn for home.

* * *

That picture...it was one among many; many failures, but this time, it hurt even more when he remembers how they trusted him implicitly, how only children could, shinobi or not. And he failed them by not treating them equally; favoring one over the other, and forgetting the rest.

And yet look how far they had come, and he had not done anything for them. Perhaps there was still hope, and with hope, maybe even forgiveness in time, so his soul could finally rest.

But until then, that picture sat on the table, mocking him to no end.

* * *

"_You can close your eyes to reality but not to memories._"-Stanislaw J. Lec


	3. Sunrise

_**The Worlds That Never Were**_

**Title:** Sunrise

**Date written: **6.11.2008

**Pairing(s):** Hinted NaruSaku.

**Rating: **T

**Warning(s):** Unbeta'd, written right after I woke up.

* * *

It has changed.

The air around them is strained, and tinted with bitterness of a long-lost love, one-sided or otherwise. They are two souls that an eternity has passed by, leaving nothing between them but the turmoil in their hearts.

And so it begins.

* * *

She sees a flash of dark, spiked hair, and breathes in. This is the moment she has been waiting for, but not the way she wants it. He has returned, only to take something away.

There will be no more taking.

She breathes out, and the battle commences.

* * *

He sees a person charge at him, and wonders for a split second, if that really is _her_. And with an unexpected sadness, he blocks her attack, wondering briefly if there ever was a time where they could have existed together.

* * *

She notices a tinge of emotion pass over his face, but pushes it away, marking it as a figment of her imagination.

But then, she goes back and wonders.

* * *

They stand, hand on wrist, not moving.

This time it is she who was attacking and he who was blocking, and they can't help but wonder when their roles were reversed.

* * *

He moves forward with a questioning look on his face, and she jumps back, as if burned.

How ironic that the moment they both have been unknowingly waiting for is passing them by.

* * *

There are no words to describe their feelings- a whirlwind of two hearts clashing, trying to mend something that can no longer be fixed.

* * *

A third person enters the mix, and she looks back at him. For once, _she_ looks back at _him_.

And this time, she walks back to take her place at his side, reassured by his presence, his very being, knowing that where he is is where home is.

* * *

He watches from afar, feeling so _empty_ after all is said and done. Now, it seems like his life was all for naught, when there is no one left for him.

He looks down, and turns to take his leave, to disappear in the shadows that have taken over his soul.

* * *

They look at him, and know this is their last chance.

They will never leave him behind, nor let him walk alone ever again.

Both walk up to him, and take him by the hand.

* * *

Together, they walk into the sunrise that marks the beginning of the rest of their lives.


End file.
